That Girl
by DarkElements10
Summary: -COMPLETED- Then she did that thing that made me crazy. She looked up at me, and she gave me the coldest, most disgusted look anyone has ever given me. And I've had a few, trust me. And then she continued what she was doing. At that point, I knew I had to
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**That Girl**

**Summary-SEQUEL TO A WALK IN THE SUN-****Then she did that thing that made me crazy. She looked up at me, and she gave me the coldest, most disgusted look anyone has ever given me. And I've had a few, trust me. And then she continued what she was doing. At that point, I knew I had to have her. **

* * *

**Chapter One **

_Prologue_

Who knew that meeting just one girl would change my life so much? I wanted her _so bad_, but she hated me.

Sure, I have a lot of girls chasing after me; and why wouldn't I? I'm one of the lead guitarists and singers in my band; McFly. Being in a bad is a lot of fun; especially meeting all of our fans at a CD signing or whatever.

I've been singing and playing the guitar for as long as I can remember. My older sister and I would put on shows together when we were younger. It was a lot of fun to do.

So, I joined the band McFly and my life couldn't be better. Moving out of my house and moving in with my friends was one of the harder things I've ever had to do. I miss my sister loads, but we're trying to find a time for her to come and visit me. I call my mum and dad once every week to tell them how I'm doing, but I don't want to give this all up and go back home.

Lots of people think being a celebrity is what they want to be, but its not all fun and games. It's hard to get a boyfriend or girlfriend, because they will be followed by paparazzi. I'm single by the way, but I'm looking for that special person. The paparazzi is really annoying; Sometimes I go outside, people will be following me just to try and take my picture. I just want to have a normal day hanging out with my friends or going around town without having to worry about rumors that could be spread or anything.

I try to keep a clean slate for my fans; so no drugs and getting drunk for me. Well, there was this one time me and my band mates played our song _Please, Please_ in our underwear just because in our music video we played part of the song naked. It was fun at the time, but sometimes I regret it. Not to mention it was bloody cold one time we did it. I swear, I think I started to turn blue it was so cold.

Then, there are the rumors that go out. There are some you wouldn't even believe. Like, I'm going to quit the band and go to Busted. Without them, McFly wouldn't even exist right now. Matt, James, and Charlie are a few of my good friends, but I wouldn't sell out my mates to go to them. Busted, my friends and I, occasionally do some performances together, my favorite was the first time McFly was on CD:UK. That was bloody awesome.

So, that's a brief synopsis of what my life is like. I thought every day would be the same for me, wake up in this wicked house, then go practice music or hang out.

Then I met her; run away that's wanted by the law; and the girl that's hiding in my attic. . .

* * *

Sometimes I hate my life and sometimes I love it.

I have the best brothers and sister I could ask for; an older twin sister, twin younger brothers, and a genius for a baby brother. I have an older brother too, but he's off at college. He's a legal adult so he doesn't have to move around every where.

He goes to college in Hampden-Sydney, in Australia, halfway across the world from us. We're all really tight and get along great. Like, a lot of families with kids, we do get into our fair share of fights, but it's mainly over something stupid.

Having siblings is one of the things that I love about my life. There's always someone to go to if you need advice, you always have someone to hang out with, or act stupid with. I think being in a family with lots of kids is really fun.

Not to mention that the five of us are a famous band. Well, not really here in America. We're most famous in Australia and our brother is our manager. We love to play music and we got our inspiration to start a band from Busted. We love their music and decided to see if we could make it as a band ourselves. I think we're doing a good job so far.

What I hate about my life is being shipped form house, to house, to house. My siblings and I are all foster kids; our biological parents died when I was nine. I've been to so many cities in the US, its not even funny. Oh by the way, I'm originally from Sydney, Australia.

If I could have anything in the world right now, it would be to go back and live in Australia. My oldest brother is lucky, he gets to go to college there. It has amazing beaches and the great barrier reef is so awesome to look at while you're scooba diving. There are so many cool things to do there like zorbs, dirt biking, parasailing, looking at all of the animals you don't see in the United States, and going to all of the fairs and festivals dedicated to the aboriginies. What I would give to go back there just one more time.

But, right now, I'm not living anywhere. In fact, neither are my siblings. We've run away from home; why? Because we're not living with an abusive man, that's why. This man was our adoptive parent, but he has a drinking problem. He leaves home drunk and comes home drunk in a wild rage, wanting to take out his anger on my and siblings. Anyway, the five of us have split up to see if we could find any body who wants to take us in. My brothers might find a place but we're not sure if they'll be willing to take my sister or me

Why?.

Let's just say that we're really intimidating, don't like to get help when we don't need, and in my case, have had a couple of run-ins with the police _and_ the law. I'm not one to follow the rules and my police record proves it. I've only been to juvie once, only for a day for stealing some food from a store just so my brothers could get something to eat while we lived on the streets. But, I don't want to go into any more detail about it. So right now, I'm trying to find someplace to stay.

Me and my siblings left a couple of days ago and promised that we won't meet up with each other until we find some place to stay. We don't want to go to the police because we're convinced that we'll be adopted by different people, split up, and never see each other again.

Well, I did find this house and I'm currently hiding in the attic.

Then I met him; rock star who thinks that every girl who first meets him will fall head over heels for him.

I've never hated anyone as much as I hate him.


	2. Chapter 2: Room on the 3rd Floor

**Chapter Two**

_Room on the Third Floor_

_It all started on what seemed like a normal day._

"Bloody hell" I jumped when a guitar rift hit the air.

Sitting up, with a smile on my face, I rubbed my tired eyes anfd laughed along with my friends, Tom Fletcher, Dougie Poynter, and Harry Judd. They had moved all of their instruments into my room and decided to wake me up that way.

The four of us are in a band called McFly. We just recently moved in with each other and this is probably the happiest point of my life. No scratch that, realizing that girls didn't have cooties was it.

"Morning, mate" Tom said cheerfully, the dimple in his left cheek appearing.

"Are you going to wake me up like this every morning?" I asked, running my hands through my straight brown hair.

"Only if your snores don't keep us up all night" Harry said clapping me on the shoulder.

"Oh joy" I muttered under my breath as I pushed myself out of bed. I have a bad habit of snoring sometimes. "Get out."

I pushed my friends out the door and closed it behind them. Sighing heavily, I looked around my cluttered room trying to decide on what to wear for the day. I let out a heavy sigh when I heard knocking on my door.

"What?" I asked.

"Can I at least have my drumsticks, mate?" Harry asked, banging his fist on the door. I grabbed his forgotten drumsticks off the floor. I opened the door and handed them to him. "Anything else?"

"Man, you're really cranky in the morning" Harry said wrinkling his nose.

"Only when I have a band playing live in my room" I replied with a little laugh. "Nah, I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night. All the excitement, ya know?"

"I hear ya" Harry replied heading back to his room.

I closed the door behind him and pursed my lips in thought. I grabbed my dirty jeans from the floor and slipped them on over my boxers. Yawning, I left my bedroom, not bothering to put on a shirt. I headed down the stairs, nearly colliding with the potted plant at the base and headed into the kitchen.

"Why aren't you dressed?" Tom asked arching an eyebrow. "We have to go food shopping. We can't live on pizza for the rest of our lives."

"What's the problem with that?" Dougie asked, eating a slice of cold pizza.

"Your farts are the problem" I replied with a little laugh. "Have you heard from Riley yet?" A sad look crossed Dougie's face as he shook his head. I immediately regretted bringing up the subject.

Before Dougie moved in with all of us, he found this girl, Riley Jackson, passed out on the streets. He took her home and hid her in his room. He eventually found out that she was abused, and helped her escape from her dad. For the short time she was at his home, he fell in love with her.

"So, why aren't you dressed?" Tom asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I don't want to go shopping" I replied with a shrug.

"Why not?" Harry asked, grabbing Dougie's slice of pizza out of his hands and took a bite.

"Heyyyy" Dougie whined.

"Ew, it has pineapple" Harry winced and handed Dougie his pizza slice back.

"Why aren't you going?" Tom asked.

"I don't feel like it" I replied with a shrug, brushing my hair out of my eyes.

"You don't _feel_ like it?" Tom repeated giving me a look as if I grew two heads.

"Look, I miss my family is all" I replied as I opened the refrigerator. I let out a groan. "Did you eat all of the breakfast hot pockets?"

"What?" Tom asked, distracted. "The box was in there yesterday."

"Yeah, well, now its not" I replied rolling my eyes.

"I didn't eat them" Dougie said as everyone turned to look at him. He was the biggest eater out of all four of us. "I thought you did; you always eat when you're bored . . . which is all the time."

"One of my many talents" I replied dryly as I closed the refrigerator and grabbed a banana from the fruit basket.

"How can you eat those things?" Tom asked, making a disgusted face. "They're nasty."

"You're just paranoid" Harry pointed out.

"Who wants to eat a fruit with poison in it?" Tom asked giving everyone an 'Are-you-crazy?' look.

"It's like he's meant to be fat but he's not!" Dougie said through a mouthful of cheese. "I seriously don't get how you can eat so much and not gain a pound,"

"I can say the same for you" I replied with a laugh.

"I've been missing a few things for the past couple of days" Harry said stretching his arms over his head. He gave all of us a suspicious look. "Do you know anything about that?"

"Are you implying that we took your stuff?" I asked him. "What are you missing?"

"My hair brush, a few pairs of socks, a couple of books and our electric bill has gone up a lot" Harry replied.

"Whatever, _dad_" I replied with a small laugh. "I haven't been taking them" I said and swallowed my mouthful of banana. "I'm missing a few t-shirts, jeans, and we've been constantly running out of soap for the washing machine."

"Well, maybe if Dougie stops spilling everything on his shirt" Tom said eyeing the youngest member of the house warily. Then he slapped me on the back. "And you need to stop being a klutz."

I opened my mouth to talk, but a clattering sound from above our heads, interrupted me, All four of us looked up at the ceiling at the same time.

"It's probably a stack of my books falling over" Tom said waving his hand in the air.

"Yeah, it must've been" Dougie muttered. "But, I've been hearing that noise a couple of times this past couple of days."

"It's just the house settling" Harry said rolling my eyes and shaking my head. "Man, you worry over every little thing."

"Listen, mate. The last time I heard that noise-"

"We should get going" Tom said intervening so an argument wouldn't start up. Dougie's been kind of moody since everything with Riley has happened.

"Alright, let's go" Harry said as he headed towards the front door.

"Oh yeah" Tom said turning around. He pointed at me, and raised both eyebrows. "No girls over while we're gone."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" I called back to him, rolling my eyes.

* * *

I jumped as I heard a crashing sound from above me. I dropped the Xbox controller in my surprise.

After my mates left, I headed into the basement to rot my mind with video games. I was twenty minutes into a game of Fifa when I heard the crashing sound.

"What the hell?" I whispered to myself. "Maybe an animal got in."

I stretched my arms over my head as I started up the stairs. I scratched the back of my head as I tried to pint point where the sound came from. I headed into the kitchen and saw a mop and bucket lying in the middle of the floor. I looked over at the pantry and saw the door open.

"It must've fallen out by itself" I muttered, putting my hands on my hips. "While I'm up here, I might as well get another video game from my room."

I headed out of the kitchen ad up the stairs to my room. I stopped halfway in when I heard a noise. It kind of sounded like a clattering of a soda can across the floor. And the sound came from . . . above me?

"The attic?" I asked in a whisper.

Grabbing the nearest thing to me, which was a guitar, I headed towards the stairs that led up to the attic. I heard a rustling sound from behind the door. Quietly counting to three, I grabbed the door handle and pushed it open.

Soda cans were tossed carelessly on the floor, a few magazines and books by its side. Some boxes of food where stacked on top of each other a few feet away from where I was standing. In the far corner was a bag with clothes spilling out of it.

"You're not going to hit me with that are you?" a feminine voice asked. I shifted my gaze to the corner of the room. A girl with black hair and blue eyes was sitting there reading a book. "What's up?"


	3. Chapter 3: Met This Girl

**Chapter Three**

_Met This Girl_

I blinked staring at the girl as she folded the corner of the page she was on and closed her book. She looked so much like-

"Riley?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. The girl snapped her head up to look at me. She raised an eyebrow as she got to her feet.

"Excuse you?" she asked putting her hands on her hips. I couldn't help but smile at her. She looked so hot standing there like that.

"Riley?" I repeated.

"Oh, you mean my sister" the girl said, waving her hand in the air.

"If you're not Riley, then who are you?" I asked loosening my grip on my guitar.

"Why do you want to know?" the girl asked, giving me a suspicious look.

"I need to know if I have to call the police or not" I replied with a 'duh' look. "Although I'd hate to put a pretty face behind bars."

"Oh please" the girl muttered, rolling her eyes. Her eyes landed on the guitar and a smirk crossed her face. "Do you really think a guitar would help protect you?"

"It worked for Dougie" I replied with a shrug.

"You mean the guy that loves my sister" she muttered waving her hand into the air.

"I'm Danny by the way" I said running my fingers through my straight hair. "Danny Jones from McFly." Danny raised his eyebrows as the girl stared at him. "This is the part where you tell me _your_ name."

"Rhuben Jackson" the girl replied, reluctantly offering her hand. "And I know who you are."

"It's _definitely_ a pleasure meeting you" I replied as I grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. Rhuben made a face and pulled her hand away from me, "How long have you been up here?"

"A little while before you and your friends moved in" Rhuben replied, She headed over to the corner of the attic she was reading in and grabbed a can of soda. She took a long swig from it and let out a loud burp.

"Well, that explains where all of our stuff went" I said looking around the room.

"A girl's gotta eat and drink sometime" Rhuben replied dryly.

She turned and gave me a hard stare with her blue eyes. She looked me up and down and I spotted a faint blush on her cheeks. At least I think I did, I'm not sure. I looked down and saw that I still wasn't wearing a shirt.

No wonder.

"I know I'm hot, but you can stop staring now" I said with a smirk.

"Don't flatter yourself" Rhuben snapped, her blue eyes narrowing. A lock of purple hair fell into her eyes and she blew it away as an annoyed look crossed her face.

"I can't help it if you find me attractive" I replied with a grin.

"You're not my type" Rhuben snapped.

"Ouch" I winced. "That hurt. It really did. So, what is your type?"

"That's for me to know, and for you to _never_ find out" Rhuben said with a smirk.

"Oh, but I think I will" I replied rapidly raising and lowering my eyebrows.

"Buzz off, Rockstar" Rhuben snapped.

"Oh, so we're using nicknames now" I said clearly amused. "Listen, sweetie, you won't be able to get rid of _that_ easily."

"Oh, I've got a few ideas lined up already" Rhuben said giving me a fake sweet smile.

"Lots of girls here already have developed feelings for me" I said with a smug look as he casually looked around the room. "And so have you."

"_What_?" Rhuben yelped.

"You don't have to deny it" I replied arching an eyebrow. "I know I'm attractive. I just didn't think I'd attract someone like you that quickly. I mean seriously, me and my mates we're fit as they come."

"Someone like me?" Rhuben asked, raising her eyebrows. "So you already have me figured out then?"

"Actually, I think I have" I said crossing my arms over my chest. "You play the drums and you have been for a while now. Your favorite color is black although you put in some accents of purple from time to time. People classify you as a goth form all the black but you're not, you're the rebellious type. You have friends and you like hanging out with them, but you also like spending time by yourself."

I grinned at the look frozen on Rhuben's face. "I think that look pretty much tells me I'm right." Rhuben opened her mouth but I cut her off. "And you hate being figured out." Rhuben replied with a weak 'Whatever' and shifted her gaze from me.

"So, now that you know I'm up here, I'm going to have to leave" Rhuben said more to herself.

"No, you don't have to" I replied quickly. "You can stay here."

"If I do, which I have a feeling this is going to be a bad idea, your mates can't know that I'm here" Rhuben replied.

"Why not?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest.

"Because one thing will lead to another and then the police will be involved in this" Rhuben replied.

"And that's a bad thing?" I asked arching an eyebrow.

"It is if you're wanted by the police" Rhuben replied dryly. "It's a long story. So where am I going to sleep?"

"You could stay in my room I guess" I replied, scratching the back of my head. Them a grin came to my face. I said the next thing more to myself. "I haven't had a girl in there for a while." I recoiled as an empty soda can was chucked at my head. "What the bloody hell was that for?"

"I know what you're thinking" Rhuben said giving me a hard stare. "I'm not sharing a bed with you."

"Go ahead! Crush my hopes and dreams" I said with a pout. "Deny it all you want, but I know you're attracted to me and one day you'll finally be mine."

Rhuben gave me the most wicked glare I figured she could throw at me at the moment. And I'd have to say, it really turned me on. She looked so hot. I don't know how Dougie could stand hiding Riley in his room. Well, I guess its my turn to find out.

"Ok then, follow me to my room" I said turning on the heel of my foot. "And I hope you enjoy your stay . . . in more ways then one."

I sucked in a gasp of pain when I felt Rhuben's finger nails digging into my shoulder. I turned around and saw the expressionless look on Rhuben's face.

"What?" I gasped.

"You _better_ not do anything to me that you'll regret while I'm asleep" she growled.

"_I _won't regret it, love" I replied with a suggestive grin.

"Don't call me love" Rhuben snapped removing her fingernails from my shoulder.

"Would you rather I call you sweetie, or hot lips, or-"

"Rhuben would be fine" Rhuben interrupted me. "I'm not a fan of pet names."

"Whatever you say" I replied heading into my bedroom, flicking the lights on. "Sorry about the mess."

"Don't worry about it" Rhuben muttered in reply as she shoved her hands into her pockets and looked around the room.

"So, this is my room" Danny said spreading out his arms. "It shows my personality, I have pictures of my mom and my sister, and I _still_ don't know why we can't share a bed."

"Well, for one thing I kick in my sleep" Rhuben said with a small smile. I couldn't help but laugh about that.

"Bed or floor?" I asked going over to my closet and pulling out my sleeping bag.

"I'll take the floor" Rhuben replied clicking her tongue. "I'm used to sleeping on hard surfaces."

"What about a hard chest and abs?" I couldn't help but ask as I handed her my sleeping bag. Rhuben made a face and whacked me in the side of the head with it. "I should've seen that one coming."

"Yeah, you should've" Rhuben replied with a smirk as she sat down on my bed. I sat down next to her and sighed. "So what do we do now?"

"Hey, Danny! We're back" Tom's voice floated up to me. My eyes widened as I heard footsteps below us.

"Come help up unpack, mate" Harry added. "Dougs, go get him."

"What do we do now?" I repeated. "_You're_ going to hide."

"Hide where?" Rhuben asked giving me an 'Are-you-crazy?' look.

"Uh, uh" I stalled, looking around the room. I noticed the gap between the wall and the headboard to my bed. "Perfect."

"What?" Rhuben asked. Her eyes widened as I easily lifted her into my arms and half dropped, half forced her into the gap. Luckily, she was small enough to fit. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"

"Sssh" I hissed, grabbing my guitar. "Here, hold onto this. Sometimes I use this gap for storage."

"That's the least of my problems" Rhuben snapped as my bedroom door burst open. I whirled around and gave Dougie a small smile.

"Why's the sleeping bag out?" he asked through a mouth filled with a Hostess cupcake.

"Didn't you say the other day that you missed Riley so much you would cry in the middle of the night?" I asked widening my eyes. "If you need someone to talk to, you can stay here." I heard Rhuben snort and quickly coughed to cover the noise.

"Thanks I guess" Dougie said giving me a weird look. "Anyway, we need your help unpacking groceries."

"No problem mate, I'll be down in a little bit" I replied clapping him on the shoulder.

"Ok, I'll tell Tom and Harry" Dougie said before heading out of my room and down the stairs. I let out a heavy sigh and pulled my guitar off of Rhuben.

"You know you're _really_ lucky I could fit in here" Rhuben snapped. "Help me out."

"Hiding you is going to be a little harder than I thought" I said as I took Rhuben's hand and pulled her out of the gap.

"Ya think?" Rhuben asked giving me a 'duh' look.


	4. Chapter 4: Saturday Night Part 1

**A/N: I won't be able to update until July because I'm returning my computer to my school. Sorry, but I hope you can wait that long.**

**A/N2: Oh yeah, and we have also found a DarkElements fan site. It was made recently so there's not a lot of people on it. But, if you love the DarkElements, then go here: w w w . d a r k - e l e m e n t s . d a r k b b . c o m (but without the spaces)**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

_Saturday Night Part 1_

"Sorry, I didn't think unpacking groceries would take _that_ long" I said once I came back into my room, carrying a bowl of popcorn. Rhuben was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling. "I see you've made yourself comfortable."

"Why were you guys screaming at each other?" Rhuben asked grabbing a handful of popcorn and stuffing it into her mouth.

"The one thing that's really bad about Dougie loving to eat is we can hardly put up anything that we just bought" I replied dryly.

"Is that your family?" Rhuben asked motioning to a couple of pictures on my bedside table.

"Yep" I replied with a nod. "That's my mom, my dad, and my sister Vicky."

"She's pretty" Rhuben commented, looking over the picture of I's sister. Then her eyes wandered over to a picture of the two of them together, standing under a tree, hugging. "You two seem pretty close."

"We are" I replied. "She's one of my best friends."

"Do you miss her?" Rhuben asked throwing a piece of popcorn into the air and caught it into her mouth.

"A lot" I replied, then turned to look at her. "What about you? Do you miss your siblings?"

"A whole lot" Rhuben replied letting out a heavy sigh. "Especially my brothers. They're so adorable and I miss them constantly being around me. But, as long as they're safe I'm happy."

"Do you ever hear from them?" I asked.

"From time to time" Rhuben said with a shrug. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her wallet. "We call each other once every ten days."

I took Rhuben's wallet from her and flipped through the pictures. "That's Noah" she explained. "He's probably the quietest out of all of us and he's the most sensitive. Next to him is Patrick, his twin brother. Naturally, he's Noah's opposite. He's loud, but not in a bad way, and has an outgoing personality. The smallest one is Sydney. He's the sweetest, but he's smarter than your average seven year old. Then you already know Riley."

"It looks like you guys have a lot of fun together" I commented as he handed Rhuben back her wallet. "Well, I'm going to go take a shower. Don't make any noise while I'm gone."

I turned back to Rhuben and gave her a wide grin. An annoyed look crossed Rhuben's face. "You are such a pervert" she snapped, throwing a pillow at me. I laughed and caught the pillow before throwing it back at her.

"Ah, one of my best qualities, love" I replied with a grin.

"What am I going to wear for pajamas?" Rhuben asked setting down the pillow.

'What's wrong with your underwear?" I couldn't help but ask. I raised my hands defensively when I saw the look on her face. "Sorry, I'll get you something."

I headed over to my dresser and pulled out a t-shirt and some boxers before throwing them at her. "I hope they fit."

"Nice boxers" Rhuben said holding up my Loony Toons underwear.

"Ah, but I bet it'll look hotter on you" I said before heading out of the room.

-

Whistling to myself, I headed down the hall back towards my bedroom. I looked up and down the hallway, to make sure my friends weren't coming before I quietly opened the door. I stepped into my room and closed the door behind me. I pulled the towel away from my waist and tossed it into the corner.

I was searching for a pair of jeans when I remembered-

"What the hell?"

I looked up and blushed when I saw Rhuben turning around in my computer chair, pulling the warm, wet, towel off her head. She gave me a hard glare. "Why the hell-" her voice trailed off. "Crap!"

"Damn it" I hissed, searching the floor for a pair of jeans. I grabbed a pair off the floor and quickly pulled them on.

"I'm _so_ sorry" Rhuben muttered, her face hidden behind her hands. I couldn't see her face, but I could tell she was blushing because her ears were a dark red. "I'm sorry, I'll j-just go!"

At least _she_ could talk. I was so embarrassed, and shocked, I couldn't say anything to her. Seconds later, Rhuben came back into the room, grabbed the clothes I said she could use as pyjamas, and hurried back out.

I scratched my head and grabbed my guitar and crashed onto my bed, strumming a few chords. '_Maybe I'll think of a new song_' I thought as my fingers moved effortlessly over the strings.

Ten minute later, I heard knocking at the bathroom door. My eyes widened and I sat up in bed. Oh, damn.

"Danny, are you ok in there? You've been running that water for more than an hour."

"Tom, Oh crap" I whispered, setting my guitar aside and jumping off the bed. "Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap."

I raced to my bedroom door and pulled it open, sticking my head out. Tom had his ear pressed against the bathroom door. He let out a heavy sigh and started banging his fist on the door.

"Danny!" he shouted. "Are you ok?"

Thinking quickly, I ran over to my closet and pushed aside a pile of clothes. I grabbed one of the baseballs that was sitting in the corner and raced back to my door.

Did I forget to mention that I used to play baseball?

I pulled the door open, wide enough to get half of my body out. I slowly brought back my arm and threw the baseball, diagonally across the hall, and into the guestroom.

Tom jumped at the loud crash and raced past my bedroom and into the guest room. I took this opportunity to race out of my bedroom and into the towel closet right next to the bathroom. I closed the closet door behind me and pulled open the bathroom door, quietly closing the door behind me.

"Tom thinks you're me" I whispered.

"Ya think?" Rhuben hissed back from the other side of the shower curtain. I jumped as I heard pounding on the door once again.

"Sorry" I muttered scratching my forehead.

"For what?" Rhuben hissed in reply.

Wordlessly, I raced over to the shower and pulled the curtain back. Rhuben opened her mouth in an inaudible scream and immediately covered her breasts with her hands, turning her back to me. I stuck my head into the spray of the water, getting it wet.

I pulled back and opened the door enough to push my head out. Tom blinked and gave me a suspicious look. I blinked and gave him an annoyed look back.

"What?" I asked. "Do you mind? There's a draft."

"You've been running the water for a while" Tom muttered. 'Are you ok?"

"Yeah, well, I have a lot to think about" I replied. "Is that alright with you?"

"Something wrong, mate" Tom asked.

"Sorry" I muttered quietly. "Nothing's wrong. Just being in a new environment. I'm home sick." Tom gave a short nod and headed down the hall and into his room. I let out a heavy sigh and closed the bathroom door. "Whew he's gone."

"You know what would be better?" Rhuben asked, poking her head out from behind the shower curtain, her eyes flashing in anger as she shut off the water.

"What?" I asked, brushing my now stringy hair out of my eyes.

"Get. Out" she said through clenched teeth, throwing a bar of soap at me.

I ducked and the soap hit the door. Muttering a 'sorry' under my breath I turned-and walked right into the door. I fumbled to pull the door open and once I did, I was blushing like crazy.


	5. Chapter 5: Satruday Night Part 2

**Chapter Five**

_Saturday Night Part 2_

"You ok, mate?" Harry asked, causing me to jump. He was on his way up to his room and he was giving me a curious look.

"Yeah, I just remembered something," I replied slowing my rush to a walk.

"What?" Harry asked.

"I told my sister I'd call her," I replied quickly. I rushed back into my room trying to get the image of what I just saw out of my head. Ok, ok, maybe I wasn't, but you know me, I am a guy.

"Ok, I just have to get my mind off this" I said to myself starting to pace back and forth.

"But, how in the world am I going to do that?"

"You can start by looking at me in clothes for the rest of your life," Rhuben said with a smirk as she walked into the room.

"I'll do you one better" I replied jumping onto my bed and pulled my blankets up over my head. "I won't look at you for the rest of my life."

"You're going to have to eventually," Rhuben said with a small laugh. "Not to mention that you'll _want _to look at me. Look, it was embarrassing at one point but, now I'm over it."

"Well, I'm not" I replied. Oh god, I was acting like _such_ a girl. "How much of me . . . I mean, well you know what I mean."

"I didn't see much" Rhuben replied and I could tell she was still smirking. "And I mean that more ways than one."

"Wow, that really blows _my_ self-esteem," I muttered, sitting up in bed, and actually looking her in the eyes. "Thanks a lot."

"No problem" Rhuben replied sitting down at the edge of my bed. "Now, that I've made a joke to lighten my embarrassment it's your turn."

"Promise you won't get mad?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Rhuben nodded in reply and waited for me to crack a joke. I let out a heavy sigh and gave her a 'You-asked-for-it' look. "You have nice twins but your right is bigger than your left."

"You looked at me long enough to notice that?" Rhuben asked an amused look crossing her face.

"Oh, and you have a nice bum too" I added with a grin. Rhuben made a face and I couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, you were the one who told me to tell you the truth."

"I should've realized that anything that comes out of your mouth would be how hot you think I am," Rhuben said dryly.

"More like, how hot I _know_ you are," I replied with a laugh.

"So, how long have you been playing the guitar?" Rhuben asked, nodding towards my guitar. I pulled my guitar onto my lap and played a few chords.

"All my life I guess," I replied. "I don't remember a time when I didn't play. You're in a band too, right? The Dark-"

"Elements," Rhuben interrupted me. "We're not really famous though, only in Australia . . . where I'm from."

"What instrument do you play?" I asked.

"Mostly the drums, but _supposedly_ I play the guitar," Rhuben replied making a face.

"Why do you say it like that?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I can't play to save my life," Rhuben replied with a smirk. "Well, I can barely play. A lot of my fans think I do."

"_I_ thought you did," I replied, looking surprised. "So you fake playing the guitar?"

"Pretty much," Rhuben said with a nod. "Patrick would record my part, ahead of time, then, I'd fake it onstage while everyone else plays live."

"Well, I could teach you," I offered. "If you want."

"As long as you don't keep staring at me, or-"

"Easier said than done," I interrupted with a grin. "But, I'll manage. Can I say _one more thing_ though?"

"Fine," Rhuben replied with a heavy sigh.

"I _told you_ those boxers would look hotter on you," I replied and ducked when Rhuben swung a hand at me, to slap me. Rhuben made a face and rolled her eyes. "So, when do you want to start guitar lessons?"

"Maybe later, I'm kind of tired," Rhuben replied, stifling a yawn.

"Did you notice your nose wrinkles when you yawn?" I asked, staring at her. Rhuben opened her mouth and I quickly butted in. "Ah, but I'm not teaching you how to play the guitar right now, am I, love?"

"Don't call me love," Rhuben said making a face. "I have a name you know."

"Yeah," I replied shortly.

"In most cases, when a guy gives a girl a pet name, they either always forget the girl's name, they don't care, or they're looking for someone to lay," Rhuben shot back. I raised my eyebrows. I had never thought of it that way. "Do you have a flat iron?"

"Because I need to flat iron my hair," I shot back making a face.

"So do you have one?" Rhuben asked me again.

"Hold on," I said getting to my feet.

I padded over to my dresser and pulled open the middle drawer. I pushed my clothes aside until I found it. I turned around and tossed it to Rhuben, who caught it, and plugged it into the outlet by my bed.

"Do you want me to do it?"

"_Please_," Rhuben shot back, giving me an amused look. "I saw what you did to James Bourne's hair."

"Hey," I said, pretending to be offended. "I was just fooling around. I know how to straighten hair."

"How do I know, this isn't an excuse just so you can touch me?" Rhuben asked, raising an eyebrow, causing me to smirk.

"And I thought _I_ was the dirty one," I shot back.

"Ugh, you're hopeless," Rhuben snapped.

"I was just kidding," I replied, rolling my eyes, grabbing the flat iron from her hand. I sat down and reached for a lock of Rhuben's hair. "If I feel _anything_-"

"Good point," I said grabbing a pillow and placing it over my lap. "You're so tense all of the time. Why don't you just relax and have some fun?"

"Relaxing is one of the hardest things for me to do," Rhuben replied, sitting Indian style, and propping her elbows up on her knees. "Considering my lifestyle."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Let's just say I have to take care of my brothers a lot," Rhuben replied, in a somewhat sad voice. "Especially since my oldest brother, Julius, is off in college."

"Do you miss him?" I asked, quietly.

"Of course," Rhuben replied with a scoff. "He's home for a week out of the year, and that whole time, he's either looking for a job, working, or shut in his room, studying."

"I'm sorry," I replied handing the flat iron to her. Rhuben gripped her lock of purple hair before straightening it.

"Don't be," Rhuben replied with a sigh, turning off the flat iron. "I'm used to it."

"So, is he a straight A student?" I asked, tucking Rhuben's hair behind her ears. I gently brushed my fingers over her cheek, and saw goosebumps rise up on her neck.

"Try straight A-pluses," Rhuben replied in a somewhat bitter tone. A smirk slid onto my face and I let out a low whistle, blowing across her neck. I felt Rhuben shiver underneath me and couldn't help but smile. She scrambled off my bed and turned to face me. I could have sworn she was blushing. "Well, I'm tired, I'm going to sleep."

"G'night, love," I replied with a grin.

"Yeah, night," she replied shortly, getting into the sleeping bag. She rolled over and turned to face the wall and I noticed a scar running from her neck to her shoulder. Making a mental note to ask her about it later, I turned off the lights and climbed into bed. . .


	6. Chapter 6: Lies

**Chapter Six**

_Lies_

The next morning Rhuben woke up around 7:30 in the morning. I was already awake because I wasn't used to being in this house. She jumped when she noticed my staring at her.

"God, that's the scariest thing to wake up to," she muttered running her hands over her face."

"What?" I asked even though I already knew the answer.

"Your face," she shot back with a smirk.

"Ha, ha," I replied rolling my eyes. "Are you hungry?"

"Kind of," Rhuben replied rolling onto her back. She grabbed her cell phone and flipped it open. Seconds later, her thumbs were moving at high speed.

"Who are you texting?" I asked with a yawn. She grunted in reply. "Not a boyfriend?"

". . . No," she replied slowly before turning and looking at me. "Why? Would you be jealous?"

"Yes," I replied shortly. I swear I saw the corner of her mouth twitch into a smile. "Wanna go to the mall?"

"Are you sure you're not gay?" Rhuben asked arching an eyebrow.

"You need more clothes," I pointed out.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd swear this was an excuse just so you could go to the bra section of a store," Rhuben said standing up before she stretched her arms over her head.

"Me?" I asked in innocence widening my eyes. "I would never."

"Sure," Rhuben replied and grabbed her wallet. She quickly counted her money. "Yeah, sure, I'll go to the mall."

"At least let me get you breakfast first," I offered jumping out of bed.

"Can you cook?" Rhuben asked raising her eyebrows.

"Ok, I'll wake up Tom and ask him to make me breakfast and give some of it to you," I reiterated causing her to laugh. God, I loved her laugh. "Stay here and make sure you're not caught."

"No problem," Rhuben replied with a shrug. I headed out of my room closing the door behind me and headed up to Tom's room. I walked into his room and jumped onto his bed, shaking him.

"Tom," I whispered. I waited for a minute and then shook him a little harder. "Tom." Just to annoy him, I started whining his name and shook him harder.

"Ugh, what?" Tom asked finally waking up, rolling onto his back to look up at me.

"Can you make me breakfast?" I asked and then pouted.

"Did you and Dougie switch bodies or something?" Tom asked arching an eyebrow. "Because he normally whines for breakfast, not you."

"Please?" I asked widening my eyes.

"Can't you make breakfast yourself?" Tom asked. I sat and stared at him, arching an eyebrow. "Nevermind, I'm up."

"Yay," I cheered jumping to the floor.

"I hate you," Tom muttered slowly getting out of bed.

Eyes still closed, he stumbled out of the room and downstairs into the kitchen. Dougie was sitting on the couch in the living room flipping through TV channels, eating a large bowl of Cocoa Puffs.

"Morning," he chirped through a mouthful of cereal.

"Do you always get up early?" I asked scratching my head.

"Only when there's cartoons on," Dougie replied. I snorted and headed into the kitchen to watch Tom make breakfast.

"One day I'm going to force you to make breakfast for the rest of the house," Tom muttered under his breath.

"Come on, you know you love making breakfast for us," I replied. "Besides I always pay you back by buying pizza."

"True," Tom replied with a small laugh.

A few minutes later I was heading back up to my room with a plate of eggs and sausage in my hand. I heard the water in the bathroom running and rushed into my room, quietly closing the door behind me.

I looked down and raised an eyebrow when I saw Rhuben doing push-ups. I walked around her and set the plate on my dresser, careful not to get it too close to my soundboard and my computer.

"Do you always do push-ups in the morning?" I asked tilting my head.

"And crunches," Rhuben replied continuing. "I do 100 crunches and sit ups a day."

"Why?" I asked with a laugh.

"So I can stay in shape," Rhuben replied breathlessly. "It also helps with dance."

"You dance?" I asked surprised. "What kind?"

"I did a little of ballet when I was younger," she replied rolling onto her back and started to do crunches. "But, now I teach hip-hop and breakdancing."

"Hm, that makes sense," I said tapping my chin.

"What?" Rhuben asked, stopping as for a minute, as she looked up at me.

"How you got so fit," I replied with a grin.

Then she did that thing that made me crazy. She looked up at me, and she gave me the coldest, most disgusted look anyone has ever given me. And I've had a few, trust me. And then she continued what she was doing. At that point, I knew I had to have her.

* * *

"So, where do you want to go?" I asked later that day.

Tom, Harry, and Dougie shrugged as they walked along with me. Because they wanted to go to the mall too, I decided it would be easier if Rhuben snuck out of my bedroom window and met me at the mall.

"I'm going to look at appliances for our house," Tom said. "Anyone else want to come?"

"I'll come with you," Harry offered before the two of them went off.

"I'm going to look for some jeans," I announced to Dougie.

"Alright, I'll go to the music store," he said with a shrug. With that, I walked off at a quick pace and headed into a Kohl's store. I headed towards the back of the store and found Rhuben browsing through the Junior department.

"What took you so long?" she asked, going through a rack of black vests.

"My mates got into an argument about which parking spot to take," I replied with a shrug. "Tom missed about twenty good ones until we found one that was 'perfect' for him."

"Wow," Rhuben said before turning to me and dumping a whole pile of clothes into my arms. "Hold this."

"Do I have a choice?" I asked.

"Nope."

"Thought so."

"So what's your family like?" Rhuben called as she looked through graphic tees. "All you've told me is that you miss your sister a lot. What's your mom and dad like?"

"My mom is like any other mom," I replied with a shrug. "She's there for me when I need her, she puts up with me, which I still don't know how she does. At times she gets over protective though."

"What about your dad?" Rhuben asked looking over a purple camouflage t-shirt.

"I haven't seen him," I replied slowly. My voice dropped to a low murmur. "He walked out on my family."

"Oh," Rhuben said quietly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"It's ok," I replied, shaking my head.

"Seriously," Rhuben said sitting down next to me. She put an arm around my waist and rested her chin on my shoulder, peering at me. "I really _am_ sorry. I know how hard it is to be brought up by one parent."

"You were only brought up by your dad right?" I asked my eyebrows furrowed. "So that means, he abused you too."

"Yep," Rhuben replied shortly getting up and grabbing the clothes from my arms. "Me and all of my siblings. Riles and I the most."

"Why?" I asked.

"Why?" Rhuben repeated before laughing a little bit. It was more like a bitter laugh. "We provoked him the most. Bad grades, talking back, not doing what he wanted us to. Mostly because we chose to take it."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Whenever our brothers would do something and dad wanted to hit them, we would take it instead," she said grabbing all of the clothes and heading for the cash register.

"That was brave of you," I commented.

"Or completely stupid," Rhuben replied, shaking her head. "In any sense, we ran away so he wouldn't be able to hurt us anymore. I'm the only one still here, I think. I don't know where Riley went."

"Why didn't you go to Australia with your brothers?" I asked quietly, as we neared the register.

"Because my brothers can take care of themselves," Rhuben replied biting her thumbnail. "And because I have some unfinished business to do here."

"Like what?" I asked. Rhuben didn't reply. "Does it have anything to do with the police?"

"Maybe," Rhuben replied shortly.

"Look, you're going to have to tell me eventually," I said with a heavy sigh. "Because if you get caught, I'll get in trouble for harboring a fugitive."

"I'll tell you eventually, but you have to promise _never_ to repeat what I said," Rhuben said turning to look at me, a serious look on her face. "Not to your mates, not to anyone."

"I swear," I with a nod. I squinted when she pulled a wad of money out of her wallet. '_Where does she get all that money_?' I thought peering at it.

"I didn't steal anything and pawn it if that's what you're thinking," Rhuben said with a grin. "I saved up my allowance and the money I got from work."

"Well, you're in a band too, so what happens to that money?" I asked.

"Ask my dad that," Rhuben replied bitterly. "I don't see a cent from my paycheck. Dad takes and keeps it hidden."

"That sucks," I said running my fingers through my hair.

"Tell me about it," Rhuben said rolling her eyes as she got her change. She grabbed her bags and pulled a hat out of the bottom, sliding it over her hair. "So much better."

"Hey, Danny, we're ready to go," Tom said walking in through the entrance of the store.

"Riley?" Dougie asked his eyes widening.

"Uh oh," I whispered.

"Wha? I'm not-" Rhuben was cut off as Dougie crushed her in a big hug. She pushed him away when he leaned over to kiss her.

"Whoa, back up there, sexy," she cried much to my amusement. "I'm not Riley."

"Then, you're her sister?" Harry asked slowly. "Makes sense, a lock of her hair is purple not red."

"So, you're Rhuben," Dougie said slowly, a somewhat sad look on his face.

"Riley told me to tell you not to worry about her, by the way," Rhuben said giving Dougie and understanding smile.

"How'd you guys meet?" Tom asked shaking Rhuben's hand.

"We just bumped into each other here," she replied. "He was actually hitting on me at first, but when I recognized who he was by Riley's description, I figured he was ok."

"Believe me, you don't know how much of a player he is," Harry muttered. Rhuben turned to me and smirked, amusement in her eyes.

"Thanks, mate," I said making a face. "Anyway, Rhuben doesn't have a place to stay so is it alright if she stays with us?"

"I don't want to impose," Rhuben added quickly.

"Any friend, or sibling in this case, of Riley's is a friend of ours," Tom said with a smile.

"There's just one slight problem with this," I said rubbing the back of my head.

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"I'm wanted by the police," Rhuben piped up. Tom, Harry, and Dougie looked at her in shock.


	7. Chapter 7: Just My Luck

**Chapter Seven**

_Just My Luck_

"Why are you-"

Tom interrupted Dougie by elbowing him in the side. "She doesn't have to explain it if she doesn't want to."

"Thanks," Rhuben replied giving him a small smile. Tom smiled and gave her a nod.

"So, how's Riley doing?" Dougie asked quietly. Rhuben turned to him and looked him up and down.

"Well, I can see why she likes you so much," Rhuben said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. '_She can't possible like him too_' I thought. "I haven't heard anything from her recently. But, she does care about you."

"Thanks," Dougie said with a small smile, his cheeks turning pink.

"Well, we should get home then," Harry said breaking the awkward silence.

"Thanks again for taking me in," Rhuben said with a smile.

"It's no problem, really," Tom said with a smile. "We'd love to help. After all, you're in the same predicament Riley is in."

"Well, let's get going," I said placing a hand on Rhuben's shoulder. She flinched and removed my hand. I sighed heavily and placed my hands into my pockets, following them out of the store.

* * *

"What are you doing?" I asked as I headed into the kitchen. "Normally it's only Tom making stuff for us."

"Just making brownies," Rhuben replied with a shrug. "It helps me take my mind off things, plus I wanted to thank you guys again."

"I'll accept as long as you let me lick the bowl," I replied with a grin.

"Too late," Rhuben said with a small laugh. "Dougie already asked."

I watched as Rhuben grabbed a bowl and grabbed the brownie mix. "Can I help?" I asked.

"Sure," Rhuben replied with a shrug. "Do you want to pour the mix in or squish up the butter and eggs?"

"I guess I'll do the mix," I replied with a shrug.

Rhuben nodded and grabbed an egg, cracking it. She put her hand under the egg as the yolk dripped out. She liked the feeling of the slimy egg sliding through her fingers. She did the same with the other one.

"You're gross," I groaned.

"Don't make me throw this at you," Rhuben warned. I rolled my eyes.

I opened the bag of mix and started to pour it into the blow as Rhuben cracked the second egg. Then I took the butter and started mashing it up in his hands like it was clay. I turned to get the vanilla from the cabinet and poured it into the bowl as well. I was still enjoying myself mashing the butter. I paused then started to roll it in to a ball shape. I stopped for a second and filled the poured a cup of sugar into the bowl, then got back to the butter.

"Look," I said and held out the ball of butter. I had pinched two places at the top of the ball making two little cat ears and had rolled a thin strip and put that on the back of the ball. "It's a kitty."

"Wow," Rhuben said with a smirk, her eyebrows raised. She squished the butter-cat into the bowl and started to mix everything around with her hands. Once the batter was about the consistency of bread dough, she stopped.

"Aren't you supposed to use a spoon or something?" I asked arching an eyebrow. "I hope you washed your hands."

"It's more fun this way," she said with a shrug. "And it's tradition. I do it all the time with my siblings"

Rhuben put the bowl on the counter again and went looking for something to bake the brownies in. I went over and looked in the bowl. Rhuben came back and slapped my hand away, making me knock over the box of brownie mix.

Rhuben and I looked at the box on the floor, then up at each other, waiting for the other to pick it up. "Well? Aren't you going to pick it up?" they asked at the same time. "I'm not picking it up. You're picking it up."

Rhuben rolled her eyes and bent over to grab the box. I grinned and leaned over in my chair, watching her. I've got to admit, she's got a nice bum.

I straightened in my seat before Rhuben could catch me staring at her and grabbed the bag of chocolate chips and poured almost half the bag into the brownie mix. Afterwards, I stuffed a handful into his mouth.

"Dan-ny!" Rhuben said stressing the syllables in my name.

"What?" I asked with a full mouth.

Rhuben rolled her eyes and pulled the bag away from me. She mixed the ingredients together, this time using a wooden spoon, trying to distribute the chocolate chips. She noticed me watching her and shook her head.

My mouth watered as I reached for the wooden spoon. Rhuben pulled it out of my reach. I made a whining sound and pouted. Rhuben scoffed and set the spoon aside, making sure I couldn't reach it from where I was sitting.

Before she could do anything else, I stuck a finger in the batter and licked it clean. "They're really good, Rhu," I called to her.

"Really?" Rhuben asked as she came back over to the kitchen table with a round pan to bake the brownies in.

I nodded and stuck another finger in to the batter, and held it out to her. "Try it."

I grinned as Rhuben licked the batter off my finger. '_Blood hell, she's hot_' I thought. "Yup!" she said, smiling from ear to ear "It is good."

With that, Rhuben picked up the bowl and poured as much of its contents out into the pan as she could. I picked up the pan and put it in the oven and set the timer for 25 minutes.

I looked in the bowl. There was still batter clinging to the sides of the pink bowl. "Can we eat the rest?" I asked. Not waiting for an answer I took a glob of it onto my finger and stuck it in his mouth.

"Hey! I said Dougie could lick the bowl," Rhuben said as she pulled the bowl away from me, rolling her eyes.

The timer went off 25 minutes later, signaling that the brownies were done. I ran over to the oven and pulled open the door. He bent over and reached in to grab the pan. Rhuben handed me a rag. Well, she more of less slapped me in the face with it.

I took the rag and pulled the pan out. I grabbed a butter knife and handed it to Rhuben hurriedly. "Here, cut the brownies out in cute shapes, ok?" I said with a smile.

"You are so juvenile," Rhuben said. As she started to cut the brownies however, her mind became occupied with the task of thinking of shapes for her to cut out.

I smiled as I watched her. When Rhuben was almost done I went to get a severing plate to put the brownies on. I helped Rhuben lay them out so you could see each of them. Rhuben had cut them out in shapes like stars, hearts, birds and something I wasn't quite sure what it was be he guessed it was a dog. "So, should we try one before we give one to everyone else?" I asked.

"Yeah," Rhuben said. "Hold on. I have a special one for you!"

I gave her a suspicious look as she grabbed all the left over brownie shreds that couldn't be used in cutting out the other shapes. She squished them up and rolled them into a ball just like before. She made the same little round cat. "Here," she said. "It's different from the rest so I think you should have it."

I gave a small smile. '_Just like us, different from the rest, right, Rhuben_?' he thought. "Thanks."

We took our pieces of the brownie and sat on the floor in front of the table. "You take the first bite because you made it," I said.

"Ok!" Rhuben said. She paused and looked at me. I was staring intently at her.

"What are you staring a-" she stopped. I had leaned over and licked her cheek. Rhuben's face turned bright pink. She quickly covered up her embarrassment by making a face, a noise of disgust, and wiped at her cheek with her shirt sleeve.

"You had brownie mix on your face," I laughed then took a bite of the brownie cat.

The two of us ate in silence, marveling at how great the brownies tasted. When I was done, I jumped to his feet and raced to the counter. Rhuben turned around and glared at me when I grabbed the bowl of remaining brownie mix. I flinched when I saw Rhuben's narrowed blue eyes.

"God, I hate it when you do that," I said putting a hand on my hip. "Your eyes are like…piercing my body."

"It's not a knife, but I guess it'll have to do," Rhuben said with a smirk. I stuck my tongue out at her and flicked a finger full of brownie batter onto the floor.

"Dan-"

Rhuben was cut off when something wet slapped her in the face. She gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Brownie mix dripped into her mouth. She swallowed the mouthful and sucked in a deep breath of air. I made a face at what was coming next.

"DAN-NY!" she yelled. She stuck her hand into the brownie mix and sloshed it over my face.

"Oh, this means war Jackson!" I shouted. I turned the bowl upside down on Rhuben's head.

Rhuben grabbed the bag of flour and threw it at me. It hit me in the chest and it exploded on impact, sending white powder into the air and all over everything. I coughed and ran his hands over the counter. They landed on the egg carton and he threw one egg right after another at her. I spat out a mouthful of flower into her face before blindly reaching for something else.

"Ah", she cried covering her eye with her hand. "Dan-ny!" I stopped what I was doing and tried to wipe the flour out of my eyes. I blinked a few times before turning to the teenage girl.

"Rhuben, are you okay?" I asked.

"I think some of the flour went in to my eye, it really hurts," Rhuben said hand over her eye.

"This isn't a trick is it?" I asked, hesitating.

"No, you moron," Rhuben shrieked. It was then; I noticed the tear streaks on her face. '_It must really hurt_' I thought, my eyes widening. I carefully walked over to her.

"Here let me see how it looks," I said moving her more into the kitchen light.

Rhuben slowly moved still holding her hand to her eye. Unknown to me, Rhuben was still clutching a hand full of soft butter behind her back.

"Let me see how bad it is," I said trying to move her hand away from her eye.

She moved it away and felt my hand cradling her head towards the light. She relaxed slightly feeling my fingers slip through her hair.

'_He's just trying to see if there was anything there,'_ she reminded herself, as she felt my body become closer to her.

I gently brushed away the flour near her eye.

I leaned forward. '_There's nothing there_,' I thought, '_so why am I still holding her?'_

I moved closer to her, my arms wrapping tightly around her waist, I could see that her eyes had fallen closed. My eyes closed as well when I felt Rhuben's hand run gently up my arm, and I began to feel my lips move closer to hers.

The sound of the phone ringing instantly pulled the both of them out of the moment.

"Uh, phone's ringing," Rhuben said quietly.

'_Great. Just great_.'


	8. Chapter 8: Going Through The Motions

**Chapter Eight**

_Going Through the Motions_

**Normal POV**

"Hello?" Danny asked as he answered the phone. Rhuben sat down on one of the kitchen stools and started to eat some of the brownies. "Uh huh, uh huh, yeah she's here." At that, Rhuben snapped her head up and her eyes narrowed. Who could possibly know the number to the house and know that Rhuben was there. Danny must have thought of the same thing because when he turned to hand her the phone, he had a confused look on his face. "It's for you."

"I figured that much." She snapped in reply and stood up. She walked over to him and took the phone from his hand, inspecting it. Just as she thought, there was no Caller ID on this phone. Hesitantly, she brought it up to her ear. "Hello?"

"_Finally, do you know how many times I've called your cell phone!?"_

Rhuben couldn't help but laugh a little bit at her sister's impatience. She never was one to be patient about anything, often getting annoyed after three seconds of waiting. "Hold a second, let me check." Rhuben replied and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and saw that she missed 20 calls. "Sorry, it's set on vibrate and I didn't feel it when I was walking. What's up?"

"_I could ask you the same thing, "_Riley replied with a scoff. _"It's obvious that someone found out that you were there."_

"Yeah, but it wasn't my fault, the guy was just too curious." Rhuben replied, ignoring the fact that Danny was standing next to her, trying to listen through the phone. "Wait a second, how did you know where I was?"

Riley hesitated before replying. _"Someone sent it to me in a package in the mail. Like they sent me where you are, who lives in the house, and the number to it."_

Rhuben gripped the phone tighter in her hand as her heart beet sped up in dread. I swallowed thickly. "Did…did _he_ send it to you."

"_I wouldn't know for sure, it could have been him, but it could have been someone else. Don't worry about it."_

"Where are you right now?"

"_Not anywhere near you, I can tell you that much. Just, let me know when you're done with what you're done with, then I can tell you where I am and we can meet up again."_

"Ok, fine, but I can't guarantee that it will be anytime soon." Rhuben replied.

"_That's fine, it might be better that way." _There was a second of silence and Rhuben could tell that Riley was trying to figure out what to say. She knew her twin that well _"Uh, do you think you could-"_

"Do you want me to get Dougie for you?" Rhuben asked and smirked to herself, taking her older sister's silence as a yes. She lifted the phone off of her shoulder and turned her head towards Danny, who jumped when he realized that she had caught him listening to her conversation. "Get Dougie for me."

"I'm not your slave."

"I can change that." Rhuben replied and smirked again. "Remember, I live in your room, I can tell Tom, Harry, and Dougie things about you that you didn't even know about yourself. Like you talk in your sleep, and the things you say are very interesting."

"Ok, I'll get him!" Danny replied and hurried from the room. Rhuben laughed to herself and brought the phone back to her ear. "How are the boys?"

"_Oh, they're good." _Riley replied and Rhuben could practically imagine her sister nodding her head like she always did when she said something was good. _"I talked to them a few hours ago, actually. Sydney says that Patrick is trying to be like me and boss them around, but you know that Noah and Sydney would never let that happen."_

"Yeah, no one can imitate your bossiness." Rhuben replied.

"_You know I only do that to protect you guys." _Riley replied. Rhuben shrugged to herself and let out a sigh.

"I know it, but you don't have to protect me, you only have to protect them and I'll help you with that, as soon as I get out of here. I heard that you got rid of dad, but knowing him, he's not going to stay away for long."

"_That's the reason that I keep moving around, so he can't find me. But, if he does get out, make sure that he doesn't get Dougie or Jazzie."_

"No problems there." Rhuben looked up as Dougie walked into the kitchen, a 'what-do-you-want' look on his face. "Hey, hold on a second." She said into the phone and held it out to Dougie, who took it with a confused look on his face. "It's Riley" she said and couldn't help but laugh a little bit as Dougie's entire face lit up. As she walked out of the room, he put down the phone and started to fix his hair. She didn't even want to ask.

"So, uh, what's going on?" Rhuben asked as she walked into the living room and raised an eyebrow as Harry, Tom, and Danny fumbled for the remote to turn off the porn that they were watching. "Wow, if you guys get this jumpy when a girl catches you, I wonder what would happen if your girlfriends find out."

"We don't have girlfriends." Harry pointed out.

"I wonder why" Rhuben replied sarcastically as she flopped down on the couch next to Tom. He turned it to MTV and they watched a Busted music video in silence. They only spoke when Dougie came into the living room, trying to hide a smile. "Is that a smile I see?" Rhuben asked loudly, causing Dougie to blush as he sat down on the couch, shoving Tom onto the floor.

"Maybe" he replies shyly.

"So, what'd you two crazy kids talk about for…" Harry trailed off as he looked at his watch and then count on his fingers. "Twenty five minutes?"

"Not much really." Dougie replied and then turned to Rhuben. "Oh, your sister says that she'll call you back in a couple of days."

"Got it" Rhuben replied with a nod, making sure she had a mental note to remember it. "So, what do you guys do for fun?" She raised an eyebrow when she saw Dougie, Tom, Harry, and Danny grin at each other. "What? Did I ask something wrong?"

"No, there's just something that we always wanted to try." Tom replied and exited the living room as Danny, Harry, and Dougie scurried around, moving couches, they even pushed the couch that Rhuben was sitting on, across the room, while she was still on it. She eyed them warily as they continued to move furniture, and when Tom came back into the room, she got her answer.

"Paintball?" she asked as Tom handed out the guns. "You're going to play paintball…in the house?"

"What you've never done that before?" Harry asked as he loaded up his gun, looking up at her and pretending to take aim when he had finished filling it.

"Yeah, with water guns and we ended up flooding the house by accident when we hit the water main pipe." Rhuben replied as she rolled her neck, to stretch her tense muscles.

"How did you clean that up?" Dougie asked as he handed her a gun. "That's James' he uses it whenever he comes over."

"Uh, we had to use a lot of towels and a lot of patience to clean it all up." Rhuben replied as she weighed the gun in her hands.

"Ok, who wants to have Rhuben on their team?" Tom asked.

"Not me, I can handle everything myself, I'm going to kick all of your asses." Harry replied with a determined grin.

"Not me, I don't want a girl to weight me down." Danny replied with a chauvinistic smile. Apparently he was trying to impress Rhuben, but that didn't go over well. She looked up and gave him a cold glare, which caused him to take a step back.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked. Tom, Harry, and Dougie shifted uncomfortably, but couldn't help but smile at the fact that it wasn't them that was getting yelled at.

"Wha-" Danny stopped, knowing that he probably wouldn't be able to explain what he meant without getting a beating.

"Don't' worry about it, Rhuben; you can be on my team." Dougie said and gave a small smile. Rhuben smirked in reply and pointed her gun at Tom. "You all are going down." She declared. At first she didn't want to play, but what Danny said instantly changed her mind.

'_If you can't beat em', join em'_' she thought to herself as she followed Dougie to their base.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this chapter was shorter guys, but since Rhuben lost inspiration for this story, I picked it up to write. I hope you enjoy it because I got the plot of the story form her, but I'm putting my own spin on it. So, really all of the credit of the story goes to her. Hope you like it. -Riley**


	9. Chapter 9: Silence Is a Scary Sound

**Chapter Nine**

_Silence is a Scary Sound_

**Danny's POV**

Unfortunately for me, all of the adrenaline from playing paintball all night long kept me up. I tossed and turned for hours but still didn't get any sleep. Looking over at the clock I saw that it was one in the morning. Groaning to myself I swung my legs out of my bed and stretched before going down to the kitchen to get something to eat. I opened the refrigerator and looked for something good to eat; nothing was that particularly appealing to me so I settled on eating some ice cream instead. Halfway into the bucket, I heard a clacking sound from the living room. Curiosity getting the better of me, I followed the sound to the living room and saw Rhuben hunched over Tom's computer, typing furiously.

I put my down my bucket of ice cream and walked closer to her. I was going to call out her name but something on the computer caught my attention. It was a picture of a boy that had dark brown hair, green eyes, and a sinister smirk on his face. I felt jealousy wash over me as I walked closer, maybe it was her boyfriend.

"What're you doing?" I asked, causing her to gasp and jump. Quickly she closed all of the windows that were on the computer and turned around, glaring at me.

"Don't _do_ that!" she hissed. "You scared the _shit_ out of me you boofhead! Damn, you stuff everything up!"

"Excuse me, I do _what_?" I asked rubbing my neck. Rhuben glared at me but didn't reply. "What are you doing on Tom's computer this late anyway? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Shouldn't you?" Rhuben shot back in reply.

"Not when I have a lot of adrenaline running through me." I replied and grinned easily. "That and Harry's snoring is so loud I can't even hear myself think."

"That shouldn't be too hard, you don't think at all." Rhuben replied as she raised an eyebrow. I chuckled a little bit; it wasn't like I haven't heard that one before. "Whatever, I'm going to bed."

"Who was that guy?" I asked as she walked by me. Rhuben stopped in her tracks, but didn't turn around. I looked at her and saw that her shoulders were hunched together and she had clenched her hands into fists, that were shaking slightly.

"What guy?" she asked, turning her head to look at me.

"The guy on the computer screen," I replied, pointing to the computer. "The guy with the brown hair and green eyes. Who was that?"

"None of your business," Rhuben replied and started to walk out of the room. I stopped her again.

"If he has anything to do with why you're wanted by the police, I think it would be a good idea if you didn't leave the house for a while. Or if you did, that one of us went with you."

"Ha! Like that's going to do anything." Rhuben whirled around, her eyes flashing. "Listen, I know that you guys are trying to help, but with this guy, it's better if you didn't have anything to do with him. Trust me; I've learned that the hard way. I should be leaving soon anyway, if he finds out where I am…let's just say that you guys aren't going to be left alone for a while."

"You're not going anywhere; you don't have any place to stay." I insisted.

"I'll sleep on the streets, like I usually do." Rhuben shrugged in reply. "It's not like I haven't done it before, I mean, my dad is such a prick, to put it nicely. He doesn't care what I do or what happens to me. Not like your dad I bet."

"Actually, that's where you're wrong," I replied narrowing my eyes, anger starting to take over me, like it always did whenever someone mentioned fathers, or my father in general. I always tried to forget about him, and then someone or something brought him up and I would be mad for a long time. "Sure, my father didn't _hit_ me, but he was still a horrible father. He left my mum, my sister, and me because he was having an affair. Mum didn't want to believe it, but Vicky and I went out and followed him to see if it was true, unfortunately it was."

I took a breath and walked towards Rhuben and looked down at her, a glare set on my face. She looked back up at me, defiantly. "Unfortunately we had to tell our mum what was really going on. Of course she broke down and cried, she cried for days. But she finally picked herself back up and started to work towards our life being perfect again, because our dad took all of the money." I took a deep breath and continued. "So before you go and start complaining about how _your_ life is bad, you should stop to think about how other people don't _have_ fathers!"

With that, I turned and went to go back to my room.

"Sorry."

I stopped in my tracks and turned around. "Pardon?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Never in my life had I ever expected to hear her say that she was sorry about something.

"I said I'm sorry." Rhuben replied as she turned to face me, crossing her arms over her chest. "I have a tendency to think that everybody's lives are perfect compared to mine. I didn't know that your father left you guys, no one deserves that. Even if my father abuses me, I at least have some sort of a father figure in my life."

"Ah, no worries mate." I replied cheerfully. That's another thing about me; I can never stay mad for a long time. "C'mon, let's go to bed, we have a big day ahead of us."

"A big day of what, exactly?" Rhuben asked suspiciously. I grinned cheekily and placed my hands on her shoulders. She shrugged them off almost immediately.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." I replied, and poked my finger into her forehead. Rhuben slapped my hand away and made a face. "So sleep or no?" Rhuben nodded and I led the way back up to my bedroom. "Seriously, you can take my bed if you want, you don't have to sleep on the floor."

"No, I don't want to put you out of your room. I've said that before, and I'm not going to say it again, I'll just sleep on the floor." Rhuben replied defiantly.

"Fine, have it your way, I'm just trying to be nice." I said and held up my hands defensively. I took a step forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Goodnight." I whispered before getting into bed and pulling my covers up over my body.

With the silence of the house, I fell asleep about twenty minutes later, but something made it hard for me to stay asleep. I don't know what it was exactly, but I'm pretty sure I heard Rhuben crying.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I know, another short chapter, but this is actually a chapter that kind of foreshadows the future, I wonder if you guys can figure it out. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next one is going to be longer.**


	10. Chapter 10: Everybody Knows

**Short chapter, I know, it was made short on purpose. This was originally supposed to be updated on Valentine's day, but I had other stuff get in the way.**

**

* * *

****Chapter Ten**

_Everybody Knows_

"Wake up….hey, wake up…dude? Hello?" Rhuben stood up straight and crossed her arms over her chest as she glared down at Danny, who was snoring loudly. She turned her head when she heard footsteps down the hall and a second later, Tom poked his head around the doorway.

"Breakfast time." He said with a smile.

"I know," Rhuben sighed and dropped her arms, backing away from Danny's bed. She turned to Tom with an annoyed look on her face and waved her arm over at Danny. "How do you wake him up?"

Tom walked into the room and his smile grew wider. "Oh, that's easy, follow me." He said and left the room.

Curiously, Rhuben followed him to the bathroom where he pulled open one of the door on the bottom cabinet. Tom pulled out a long wooden stick, and a balloon. He smiled up at Rhuben and started to blow the balloon as he handed her the stick. She snickered when she understood what he was going to do. After the balloon was blown up to a pretty good size that he was sure wasn't going to pop, Tom took the stick from Rhuben's hand and walked back to Danny's room.

He stood over Danny's bed and stretched his arm out so the balloon was by Danny's head, causing his hair to stand up from static electricity. Trying not to laugh, Tom brought his other arm over and poked it into the balloon, immediately popping it, resulting in a loud bang and Danny waking up and falling out of bed.

"Thanks for making me lose my dream about Pamela Anderson, mate. Cheers." Danny said sleepily as he lifted his head from the floor.

"Its breakfast time you muffin, let's go." Rhuben said and lightly kicked him in the side.

"Alright, alright," Danny muttered and got up and stretched. He looked over at Rhuben, about to ask her why she was crying last night, but stopped when he noticed that she was staring out the window, her eyes narrowed into slits. "Something wrong?" he frowned and exchanged a look with Tom when she didn't answer, and didn't move. He waved a hand in front of her face. "Bella?"

"_Don't_ call me that!" Rhuben hissed, whipping her head to the side. She looked at Tom, looked out the window, looked at Danny, and then left the room.

"Wow, talk about PMS." Danny commented, shaking his head. Tom laughed and put his arm around Danny's shoulders.

"You have a lot to learn about girls, dude." He said and pushed him out of the room.

* * *

"So, what are we doing today?" Dougie asked as he poured a large puddle of syrup onto his pancakes. Tom looked over at his place.

"Careful, dude, or your plate is going to overflow." He said, wagging a 'warning' finger.

"No its not." Dougie replied and shoved a large mound of food into his mouth, his cheeks puffing out as he chewed. Harry, Danny, and Tom looked at him with disgusted looks on their faces. Rhuben smiled slightly and leaned back in her chair, deep in thought.

"Something wrong, mate?" Harry asked as he looked over at her.

"Nah, just thinking." She replied, shaking her head and looking up at the ceiling. She frowned and turned her head to the side, looking out the kitchen window .She stared for a second before blinking and turning back to listen to what the boys were saying.

"So, I was thinking that we go to the park today, you know, just to hang out and to get some fresh air." Tom suggested.

"I don't know, I would like to go to Alton Towers." Dougie interjected."It would be easier to get something to eat while you're there, especially since you have to practically chase down the ice cream man that's in the park."

"No, Dougie, _you_ just like to chase him." Harry reminded him slowly. "_We_ just like to laugh at you and be ashamed."

Rhuben laughed along with the others and Danny turned to her, a questioning look in his eyes. "What do you want to do? You're our guest."

"Uh," Rhuben rubbed her chin as she thought about it. '_In one case, going to the park would make it easier for him to find me. But in the other case, I'm not a big fan of crowds, it makes me feel claustrophobic._' She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes momentarily as she thought about it. Coming to a decision, she snapped her blue eyes open and looked at the four boys, a confident look on her face.

"I've always been a fan of rollercoasters."

* * *

"Which ride do you want to go on first?" Tom asked Dougie, who was looking around as if he was a hyper-active little kid in a candy shop that's bins had spilled over, letting anybody get to the candy.

"I don't know, they're all really good, I may just get some food first." He said as he looked around.

"Oh no, we don't want you to puke, you're getting on the rides first." Harry instructed and then turned to Rhuben. "You should have seen what happened last time. He blew chunks on almost every ride that we went on."

"Mm, reminds me of Noah, he always had a weak stomach whenever he was sick." She said and then lifted the camera that was around her neck. "Hey guys, smile."

Tom, Dougie, Danny, and Harry instantly arranged themselves into a funny pose and Rhuben looked at the back of the camera to make sure that she was getting the right picture when she froze and slowly lowered the camera, a troubled look on her face.

"Rhuben, are you ok?" Dougie called.

Rhuben blinked and shook her head. She lifted the camera again and took the picture, before turning off the camera and striding over to the four boys.

"Can you hold this for me, I'll be right back." She said and took off before anyone could say anything else. Rhuben darted around a cotton candy stand and ran towards a booth where you had to spray water into a clown's mouth to make a balloon pop.

She strode up to one of the people that were sitting on the stools and dragged him off of it.

"What are you _doing_ here?" she hissed through gritted teeth. The boy smirked back at her.

"Ah, Bella, long time no see."


	11. Chapter 11: Not Alone

**Chapter Eleven**

_Not Alone_

"What do you want, Ashton" Rhuben asked as she placed her hands on her hips and stared at the boy in front of her, narrowing her eyes dangerously. "And _don't_ call me Bella!"

"Sure thing," Ashton replied and took the stuffed animal that was being handed to him. He looked over it with a cocked eyebrow and turned back to Rhuben. "Want it?" he asked, thrusting it out to her." Rhuben didn't move and Ashton shrugged and shoved the animal into the arms of a little kid that was walking by. The kid smiled happily and continued to walk along with his mother.

"That answers my demand, now answer my question." Rhuben stated coolly, her eyes narrowing even more.

"What do I always come around for?" Ashton replied as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He smirked and took a step forward until he was in her face, his green eyes staring into her blue ones. "You still haven't finished what you started."

"I told you before; I only joined to help my siblings. I'm out now." Rhuben replied and turned to walk away. Ashton grabbed her arm, but didn't turn her around.

"You're never going to be out; wherever you are we're going to find you. It's only a matter of time." He chuckled a little bit. "Plus, I know where you live now, so it's not going to help you much to get those guys to protect you. I might do something bad to them because they're in my way."

"Don't even think about it." Rhuben hissed, yanking her arm out of his grasp and turned around to glare at him. Almost immediately, Ashton regained his composure and looked like he was happy to see her. Rhuben raised an eyebrow as he squeezed her upper arm gently. "It was nice seeing you again, we should really catch up. I'll call you ok?"

Before she could say anything, he took a step forward and kissed her cheek before turning around and walking off in the opposite direction.

"What the fu-"Rhuben started but the clearing of someone's throat cut her off.

Closing her eyes in dread, Rhuben turned around and slowly opened one to see McFly standing in front of her, curious looks on their faces.

"He's, ah, just an old friend of mine, I haven't seen him in a while." Rhuben explained, through a grimace.

"Ok, so, let's go on the Ferris Wheel!" Dougie declared, grabbing her arm and dragging her in the direction of the ride.

"What's up with you?" Harry asked when he noticed the annoyed expression on Danny's face. Tom looked over at the Bolton boy and saw it too.

"Nothing, I just have a headache." Danny muttered in reply, rubbing his forehead for effect.

Harry looked at Tom with a raised eyebrow and Tom gave a small smile in reply. The two didn't believe Danny at all. He always pretended he had a headache whenever something was wrong with him. The last time that he had done that was when it was the anniversary of the day that his father left his family. That was a very touchy subject for Danny and he hates to talk about it. So now may not be a good time to talk about why he got very unhappy in a matter of seconds.

It's weird to see Danny Jones unhappy. When he's usually so happy al of the time.

-

**Danny's POV**

I felt my eyes start to close and then quickly brought them open. I was bored to tiredness apparently. We're watching Back to the Future, _again_. I don't have anything against it. It's just the fact that I have been watching this movie almost every day since I met Tom. It's getting pretty annoying. You would think it was annoying too if you could practically quote the entire movie word for word.

Like Tom can.

I slid down on the couch and placed my feet in Dougie's lap as I looked up at the ceiling.

"Hey, get your meat sticks off of me!" Dougie cried and pushed my legs to the floor. I smiled a little bit and pulled it off the floor again and moved it towards his face and started to rub them around.

"Smell my feet, see how beautiful they are!"

"EW! Danny, stop!" Dougie cried and struggled to move my feet away from his face.

"Danny, stop, we don't want you to knock Dougie out with the bad smell of your feet. We have a gig later, I don't want you making the fans upset by saying that we can't perform because our guitar player killed out bass player." Tom tried to say sternly, but he was laughing, so I could tell that he didn't mean it.

We always goofed off liked that, it was what made us great mates. Goofing off all the time, doing whatever we want to do, and doing what we love all the time, together. It gets really annoying when you can't be alone sometimes, but when you do get time alone; you're often bored because you don't have anyone to talk to.

I don't know where I would be without them.

That sounds cheesy.

But it's true.

I reached into my pocket as my cell phone vibrated, telling me that someone was calling me. I saw that it was Vicky, my older sister that was calling me. "Hey, I'll be right back," I said as I got up. "I have to take this call."

"Who's it from?" Harry asked as I started out of the room.

"My sister." I replied.

"Ooh, she's hot, tell her I said hi!" Tom shouted after me.

I gave him the finger over my shoulder as I walked outside and sat on the front porch. "Hello?" I asked, answering the phone.

"Hey Dan, its Vicky."

"Vick! Wow, it's so good to hear from you! How are you?" I asked. I was seriously happy to hear from her. She's in college right now, and when I go back home to Bolton, I'm hardly able to see her. Usually, it's just me and my mum whenever I go home and that's good too. But sometimes, I need my sister to talk to.

"I'm good. I'm really good; college is going for me right now. Classes are great and my roommates are awesome. They make me laugh all the time."

"That's good. But…that's not the reason you called is it."

"No, it's not."

"Then what is it?"

"You're probably not going to like it much."

"What is it, Vicki?" I asked impatiently. My heart started to beat faster, fearing the worse. Did something happen to my mom? One of my friends from school? Some other person in my family? Her? What could it possibly be?

"Dad called mum today, apparently he's making her sign some papers so some of the possessions might go to him. I'm not sure if we were put in on this deal, but I know that mum is going nuts about it."

"Oh god." I muttered and closed m eyes, and lowered my forehead onto my knees. I wish that the ground would open me up and swallow me. Dad had left us a long time ago and I was having a fine life without having to think about him. Now he goes and does this. It is very annoying and it makes a damper on my already not so great day. "Why does he do things like this, Vick?"

"I don't know, but I think that we should go see mum this weekend."

"That's a good idea." I sighed and looked at my watch. I didn't really have anything else to say. I'd talk to her again later, hopefully when I'm not in a bad mood. "Listen, I have to go, it's my turn to make dinner." Ok, that was a total lie; I can't cook food to save my life. Tom does it all for us. "I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"Ok, I'll see you this weekend. Love you."

"Love you too."

Thinking about my dad and all the shit that he Is now putting us through, I closed my cell phone and put it in my pocket before going back into the house and going up into my bedroom. I looked down at the floor and saw that Rhuben was doing one-armed pushups, making it seem way too easy.

"What are you a robot or something?" I asked as I flopped down onto my bed and watched her. She lifted her head and looked at me as she continued what she was doing. She chuckled a little bit.

"That's the exact same thing my siblings ask me whenever I do this." She replied and then dropped to the floor when her cell phone started to ring next to me on the bed. I picked it up and tossed it to her as I lifted my acoustic guitar off of the floor and started to pluck the strings. "Hello?" she waited a few seconds. "You must have some bad news to tell me."

I lifted my head and looked at her as she sat on the floor, cross legged, her face twisted into a look of concentration.

"Because you always call me kiddo whenever you have something bad to tell me, completely forgetting that I'm your twin."

Well, obviously it's her sister.

"Yeah, I remember him."

Silence.

"WHAT?! Are you sure? Oh my god. Thanks for telling me." I watched as she lowered her head so her hair covered her face. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I promise. Bye."

She hung up the phone and stared at it in her hand for a few seconds before throwing it across the room. It hit the wall and broke in half. She placed her face in her hands and I could tell that she was crying from the fact that her shoulders were shaking violently. I got off my bed and approached her carefully.

"Rhuben? Rhu, what's wrong?" I asked, placing my hand on her shoulder. I expected her to yell at me, or to brush me off, but she just continued to cry. I sat down on the floor next to her. "You can tell me what it is, what's going on?"

"Riley…she just told me that my friend, Chris, died." She replied. Lifting her head and wiping the tears off of her cheeks.

"What happened to him?" I asked gently. She shook her head.

"I don't know, his brother called her and said that they found him in an alley, beaten to death. Apparently he was robbed or something." She took a deep breath and started crying again. "It's just not fair, why did this have to happen to me?"

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into my side as she continued to cry.

I often thought the same thing whenever I thought about my dad.

But it just goes to show you that when things are bad for you, they could be worse for someone else.


	12. Chapter 12: Only The Strong Survive

_**Chapter Twelve**_

_Only the Strong Survive_

"He's going to pay!" Rhuben hissed as she suddenly stopped crying. That definitely put me for a loop, one minute she's crying her eyes out, and now she's going like Buffy the Vampire Slayer on some guy's ass.

What the hell is going on?

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion. "Who's going to pay?"

"Ashton, he's a dead man." Rhuben replied and got up starting to pace back and forth, taking long angry strides. I was totally confused now. Could she actually hurt someone, sure she could do one-armed pushups if she wanted to, she could even do more crunches than Harry, but she is tiny. So it makes it seem impossible for her to try and hurt someone, let alone kill them.

"Ok, _what_ is going on?" I demanded, getting to my feet too. "I'm tired of all of the secrets and you acting very weird, I mean, you've only been here for a few days, but you're still making things as weird as when Riley was here. I mean, you're wanted by the bloody police. What is going on?"

Rhuben was quiet for a moment; she had one of my hats in her hand and was twisting it back and forth, deep in thought. Finally she sighed and I swore I heard her say 'Riley's going to kill me for this' before turning to me and tossing the hat to the side.

"I'll explain everything in a few minutes, I just need all of you into the living room. I have something I need to do first." She replied.

"Promise you're not planning on killing anybody." I said half-joking, half-serious. She looked at me and did it again. She looked up at me, and she gave her coldest, most disgusted look. I hate to say it, but it really turned me on.

"That's something that I can't promise, unfortunately."

* * *

"Ok, so what's going on?" Harry asked as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

I had told Tom, Harry, and Dougie to meet in the living room because Rhuben had something to tell us, and they immediately jumped at the act that I may have gotten her pregnant. Now, I may be the kind of person that makes out with a girl as soon as I meet hr, but I'm not stupid enough to get her pregnant that fast.

"First, I need to go back over a few things." Rhuben replied. She was sitting on the ground in front of us, her hands clasped in her lap, looking each of us in the eye in turn. Her eyes stopped on Dougie. "Riley escaped to Essex and went to your house and you kept her there, without your mum knowing, until my dad came and found her and tried to take her away. But you stopped him, all of you did."

Dougie nodded quietly.

"But what she didn't know was the fact that I was here in London, looking for places to live." She scratched her forehead and rolled her neck, almost nervously. "The reason that I'm wanted for the police is because I've been stealing some things to keep myself alive."

"Why?" Tom asked. It was only a one word question, but it still had a lot of force into it.

"You'd do it too if you were stuck on the streets, trying to run away from your abusive father." Rhuben replied and I let out a short gasp and her eyes trailed over to me and she smirked. "Yeah, I get abused, so did Riley, so does my brothers. We're all abused. I bet you're wondering why we don't go to the police or get help. The answer is simple; we don't want to get split. If we tell, we'll be sent to the orphanage and we won't stay a family, so we handle it on our own."

"Then who was that guy at the amusement park?" I asked suddenly. Last night after Rhuben had gone to sleep I went online and looked at the picture of the boy she was looking at, I immediately recognized him today at the park.

Beside me, Dougie snickered and leaned forward to whisper in my ear.

"Jealous, are we?"

"Sod off." I snapped in reply, my eyes still on Rhuben.

"I was getting to that," she replied lazily. "Anyway, while on the streets, looking for food and stuff, I encountered this gang that Riley and I used to be in. Yes, we used to be in a gang, at a young age too, but we left it because we realized that it was putting our brothers in danger. Anyway, I ran into Ashton again, he's the leader of them. He's also the guy I ran into at the park. He's a tough dude, has connections everywhere and he always knows where we are, he knows who you guys are from sitting outside of this house, watching us."

She coughed lightly and continued.

"He offered me to join them again, so I can have a roof over my head and food to eat. I thought about taking it, but then decided not to. Apparently that really ticked him off because he's been following me wherever I go, threatening me if I don't do something he wants, which pretty much is to join him again. He knew the one person, besides my siblings, that would rattle me if he took them out of the picture. And that was my friend Chris. He's dead now because Ashton got to him."

She turned her head and nodded at Dougie.

"I don't have to worry about my dad anymore because you helped my sister get away from him and I'm eternally grateful to you for that." She got to her feet and stretched. "But now I have to get rid of my other problem. And I would like your help, but the fact that this is extremely dangerous, I would understand if you didn't' want to."

"I'll help." I spoke up suddenly and stood to face her, narrowing my eyes. "But that depends on how dangerous we're talking."

She reached into her back pocket and held out her hand, her eyes focused on mine. In her hand was a black pistol.

I drew in a sharp breath.

"That dangerous enough for ya?" she whispered.

"I don't think this is a good idea, if guns are involved." Tom stated nervously as the others crowded around to see it. I picked up the pistol and weighed it in my hand, it sure was heavy.

"Don't point that thing at me, dude." Harry said, taking a step back.

"Relax, it's on safety." Rhuben scoffed as she took it back and placed the gun in her back pocket.

"But Dougie helping your sister get away from your dad…he didn't have a gun with him then." Tom stated. Rhuben cocked an eyebrow.

"You would think that."

"I told you before, I'm in." I repeated and looked at my friends, my eyes wide. Dougie sighed and nodded in agreement.

"If I can help you…then I'm probably helping Riley too." He said quietly, a tint of pink on his cheeks.

"Me too." Harry grimaced as if he was regretting it.

"I think I'm going to regret this, but me too." Tom replied.

I think we're all going to regret this…

One way or another…


	13. Chapter 13: It's Over Now

**Chapter Thirteen**

**It's over Now**

"Ow!"

"Watch it!"

"Shut up!" Rhuben snapped harshly as she turned around and glared at the four boys. They instantly fell silent. She rolled her eyes and looked around warily. She had led McFly towards the park, but slipped into the woods and walked for a good twenty minutes before stopping. She looked around and then pointed towards a clearing. "We're here."

"I don't see anything." Harry whispered, making sure that no one overheard him. Wordlessly, Rhuben took a flashlight out of her pocket and flicked it on. She shined the flashlight into the woods and McFly saw that there was a warehouse in front of them.

"When did that get there?" Tom asked quietly. "I've never seen it before."

"Ashton works fast," Rhuben replied tonelessly. She smirked when she saw someone that was keeping watch outside of the warehouse. "Let me handle this."

"Wait," Danny grabbed her hand, forcing her to stop. "You're not going to shoot him are you?"

"'Course not, I'm just going to knock him out." She replied and tore her hand away from Danny's, and turned her head away, thankful that it was dark so he wouldn't be able to see the blush on her cheeks. She quietly moved out of the bushes and stalked towards the guy that was looking around keeping guard. "Damn, this guy is going down easily." She muttered to herself and grabbed a rock off of the ground and threw it towards the guy, purposely missing him.

"Who's there?" the boy called, looking around warily.

Rhuben smirked and rushed forward, knocking the guy onto the ground and hit a pressure point in his neck, causing him to be knocked unconscious instantly. Rhuben lifted the guy's head by the hair and looked him over before turning back to McFly and waving them over.

"Wow, remind me to never get her mad." Dougie muttered as he looked down at the fallen boy. "I don't want to be knocked out anytime soon."

"Got it." Danny nodded in reply, his eyes on Rhuben. She looked over at him and turned away quickly. "C'mon, he's inside. Have you guys called the police already?"

"Yeah, Dougie did just a few seconds ago, they said they'll be here soon, and will be waiting outside, waiting for him to come out." Tom replied with a short nod.

"Ok, let's go then." Rhuben checked her back pocket to make sure that her pistol was still there. Once she was sure that it was, she led the way inside.

"You're acting like you've been here before." Harry commented after five minutes of silence.

"Technically, I have, "Rhuben replied shortly. "Ashton is such a dummy sometimes; he makes a lot of the buildings the same as they are back in Australia. So if you've been in one, you've been in them all." She stayed silent for a second and then continued speaking. "I think now is a good time to tell you, Dougie, that Riley only went to your house because of the fact that we were trying to get away from our dad, and the fact that Ashton was trying to frame her for things too. Just like he did to me."

Dougie stayed silent, moving the flashlight around as they continued to walk.

"So, in other words, you've been running for almost all of your life, right?" Tom asked.

"Exactly." Rhuben nodded. "And it's all because of this one time that we had just runaway from dad, and Riley and I made a bad decision of meeting up with Ashton and the others. We only wanted enough money to get food for our brothers, and they had it. So we did a lot of bad things just to get the money, and then when the police were called, Ashton acted like he was a bystander and told the police what we did. Now almost anywhere we go they're after us. I just want him in jail once and for all, then I don't have to worry about it."

She stopped walking and held her arm out, stopping the boys in their tracks.

"What is it?" Danny asked.

"Camera," Rhuben replied, pointing at it. In a flash, she pulled the pistol out of her back pocket and fired a shot into the face of the camera. It exploded instantly. McFly jumped at the sound of the gun going off.

"God," Danny whispered, placing a hand over his chest, the sound of the gun making his heart race.

"C'mon, we're almost there." Rhuben continued walking forward; the others exchanged glances before following her again. They were too scared to say anything, just in case they angered her. She walked over to a wall and ran her hands along it before taking a step back and pushing on it.

Tom's mouth dropped open when he saw the wall slide away, revealing a computer room, monitors were everywhere, showing different locations though out the warehouse.

"You two stay in there, and take this." Rhuben said as she tossed Tom a walkie talkie and nodded to him and Harry. "Let us know if you see someone heading towards us."

"Sweet!" Tom cried happily and ran into the room. Harry shook his head at his friend's hyperness at a time like this.

"You two, come with me." Rhuben said to Danny and Dougie.

"Do I have to?" Dougie asked his eyes wide with fear.

"Listen; if you were able to help Riley when it came to something like this, why do you think that you're not going to be able to help Rhuben?" Danny asked his friend. Dougie looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Well, it comes down to the fact that they have _guns_ and people with _guns_ can _die_!" Dougie replied shrilly.

"Look, you can come with me, or you don't, either way, I want to get this out of the way so I can live a normal life again. So, go stay with them if you're that worried. I'm going to keep going!" Rhuben snapped in reply and didn't wait for Danny and Dougie as she continued on ahead.

-**Danny's POV-**

I looked over at Dougie and shrugged before hurrying after Rhuben. Behind me, I heard Dougie sigh heavily and then heard his footsteps on the floor, trying to catch up. I grinned to myself. I knew that there was no way that Dougie would want to stay behind. When it comes to moments like these, Dougie and I have the problem with being left out, even when it comes to something extremely dangerous. I guess all guys go through that. They do stupid things because they don't want to be left out. I can assure you that is how I got a lot of broken bones when I was younger.

I followed her until we went into a large room that had a high ceiling. Rhuben made a scoffing sound and I looked over at her. Without turning her head, she spoke to me.

"You and Dougie, get up there and stay up there, I can do this myself." She said. I looked behind me and saw a ladder that led up into some rafters. I looked at Dougie and he nodded back at me and we rushed over to the ladder. As I climbed up the ladder, I looked over to see that Rhuben had stormed across the room and stood in the shadows, waiting.

We didn't have to wait long. A door at the other side of the room opened and Ashton walked in with leisurely nonchalance, as if he didn't have a care in the world. Only when Rhuben stepped out of the shadows did he actually look shocked.

"How did you get in here?" he demanded, scowling.

"You always underestimate me, Ashton; there are so many people that don't know how well I can fight, and how well I can knock them out." Rhuben replied and punched Ashton in the chest. He grunted in pain and took a few steps back, holding onto his chest.

"Alright." Dougie whispered from beside me.

"Heh," Ashton chuckled a little bit and clenched his fists. "You seem a little mad."

"No, I'm a little pissed off." Rhuben snapped in reply. "I'm sick and tired of you blaming me for everything that you do and being chased by the police. Now, you're going to fess up to the police."

"And what if I refuse?"

"The police are already here, you don't have a choice against this one."

"I don't believe you."

I gripped the edge of the railing, and saw my knuckles turn white. I had a feeling that something was going to happen; it was inevitable, considering what has been going on.

'_I just hope that Rhuben doesn't get hurt_.' I thought to myself.

"You should."

"Really, well then, we're just going to see if you're telling the truth, we'll wait for five minutes, if you really did call them, they'll be in here in that time frame!" As soon as he finished what he was saying, Ashton lunged forward and punched Rhuben in the face.

I gritted my teeth in anger and started to move towards the ladder. Dougie grabbed my arm.

"Don't go, dude. She can take care of herself." He whispered.

"I can't just sit here and let her get hurt." I replied and I saw that she stood in the same spot as Ashton continued to punch and kick her. She felt to the ground and I struggled to get out of Dougie's grasp as Ashton continued to hit her. "Let me go, Dougie!"

"You can't possibly tell me that you think she's not doing that on purpose." Dougie whispered in reply. I stopped moving. "Think of it this way, who will the police believe if they see her beaten up, and not him."

"That's a good point." I muttered in reply.

But it still made my heart hurt to see her getting hurt.

I looked around and the rafter and saw that there was a sandbag tied to the rafter and an idea suddenly came into my head. I nudged Dougie beside me.

"Hey, help me with this." I hissed and started to untie the ropes that were on the rafter.

"Got it." Dougie replied. Suddenly the sound of the walkie talkie crackling caught my attention. Dougie took it out of his pocket and held it up to his ear as I tried to bite through a rope. "What is it?" he asked and pulled the walkie talkie away from his ear.

"The police are here, but I don't think that they're going to go inside." Tom replied.

"Why not?" I barked as quietly as possible.

"They think that if they go in there, they're going to endanger us for no reason, so we're going to have to get him out ourselves." Harry replied.

"We have a plan already, just let us deal with it, we should be out soon." Dougie replied and put up the walkie talkie again. He started to tug the ropes again. "What are these super glued or something?"

"Or something," I noted in reply and winced when I heard a shrill cry of pain. "They're all tied up, let's just break some of the ropes, hopefully my idea will work that way too."

"Right."

For the next five minutes, I tried to ignore the sound of Rhuben getting beaten up as Dougie and I started to tug on ropes and snap some of the flimsier ones.

"We almost got it." I grunted and saw that there was only one last rope left that we had to pull. "Help me with this, Doug." I said and he moved next to me and we pulled on the last rope. It cut into my hands and it started to bleed,

I ignored the pain in my hands and pulled harder. When the rope broke, Dougie and I stumbled back into the other side of the rafter. Quickly, I got back up and looked over the railing and grinned grimly. My idea had worked.

The sandbag sliced through the air and hit Ashton in the side of the head, causing him to stumble to the side and crash into the other wall, getting knocked out. Rhuben stared at him as she slowly got to his feet, wiping blood off of her cheek.

Dougie and I quickly went down the ladder. Dougie went over to help Rhuben to her feet and I went over to look at Ashton. It didn't look like he was breathing, hopefully we didn't kill him.

"I don't think he's dead." I called back.

"I don't care if he's dead or not," Rhuben replied quietly, I turned and looked at her and saw that her face was swollen, especially her eyes. She was breathing heavily and looked extremely worn out. "I just want to get out of here."

"Ok then," I said and walked over to her other side and put my shoulder under her arm. "Let's go home."

**THE END**

**A/N: Don't worry, there's still going to be an epilogue. Oh and I'm wondering, what would you think if I went back to some of my older stories and rewrote them?  
**


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